If you Knew Hilda Baci...

Hilda Baci at Amore Gardens, Lekki, Lagos for the cooking contest

 

There are two kinds of taste, the taste for emotions of surprise and the taste for emotions of recognition. - Henry James

In those days in elementary school, we have a subject called Home-economics, which most girls subscribed to instead of Agricultural science, the boys subscribed to Agric, while the girls alongside one or two boys subscribe to Home Economics, the boys often time pull out of the subject on the long run. Those days when they are doing their practical, which most times take a longer period than the regular Agric periods, we will go to queue at the window where their practical is being held just to have a bite of the awesome dishes they prepare. For a fact, when you taste those meals, you will always want to come for more.

Culinary arts have over the years been reserved exclusively for women and less of men, but physiologically been held as a culture reserved only for women, data show otherwise though, as men have more badges in the culinary industries than women world over. 

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Aside the food thing, the place of the kitchen at a home/family setting has been reserved for only women. The duty of a man in most African homes is to provide the money for food, while the woman does the magic of how the food gets to the table. A former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari once said "...My wife belongs to my Kitchen, the living room and the other room." {You might want to ask what the other room was, I will be duty bound to respond.} He made that statement when he was making a remark in Germany standing beside the then German Chancellor Angela Markel.

You never can tell what men can say, just to prove a point.

Fat forward to 2023, here comes a lady named Hilda Baci, who in her prime broke a yet to be given honors of Guiness World Record of the longest cooking Marathon by an individual. She tagged the cooking contest - Hilda Baci cook a thon. 

Hilda Baci had only wished to just break the former record of 87hours and 45minutes record of an Indian Chef Lata Tondon a record held since 2019, but she came out to surpass the record by her will power, and the actions of the people who cheer her on. 

Africa is not all about the crisis in Sudan. Africa is not all about poverty, deprivation, and destitution. Africa is not all about insecurity. - Kashim Shettima

So, what is Africa about? That will be an answer for the later or another day. Hilda Baci was tired at some point and was quickly attended to according to the rules of the contest. This is a contest in which you are only entitled to an assistant at a time, you are spared 5minutes each hour, or combined all your 5 minutes together at once as the case may be, for a lady who is just 27years of age. 

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How best can one describe Hilda Baci? She went on to prepare over 100 different dishes, as well wishers cheer her on while acknowledging the sweetness in her meal. This can only remind me of a time I travelled down to the state, upon my arrival, my brother suggested I come stay in his house till I return, while in the house there is this lady whom I met there, who was well packaged, she also can cook a thon, she prepared some of the dishes I could almost taste, she prepared one unique one which she added periwinkles, see foods, and orisirisi.

I ate that food with a thank you on my lips, and a mindset of dating her. Truly, food remains the best channel to get the love and heart of a man. I was wowed with the meal! Funny how this will sound, the lady hails from Akwa Ibom, the same state Hilda Baci hails from, one can only conclude that God bless these set of people with the mastery in culinary arts.

Governor of Lagos State came to the venue to cheer her on and took a bite of the sumptuous meal.

Hilda Baci was a point tired, but she courageously held on to the set goal.

Prior to the moments she broke this world records, Hilda Baci has won a $5000 prize cooking contest, where she prepared a tasty Jollof Rice, which brought about who cook the best Jollof Rice between Nigeria and Ghana, of course Nigeria, Hilda Baci help put to rest the debate just as Messi help sealed the G.O.A.T debate when he won the World cup for Argentina.

Hilda Baci went on to cook for 100 hours and 40minutes, her images and story became one of resilience, the African spirit of not giving up, a story of perseverance, and going for Gold. If you knew Hilda Baci, you would conclude, "I could almost taste it..."

Impossible is nothing. - Adidas, Dubai 2022

 

Today, Hilda Baci is being celebrated across board for doing the imaginable, for going the extra length, adding the last touch after several last touches to make a difference, like a painter does when working on a masterpiece, she did add a new note to the many written, just to give her book a meaning, this indeed is the African spirit. 

Just like my secondary school days, that the boy's queue at the Home Economics lab to see if they could have a bite of the dishes prepared by their classmates, the same applies to Hilda Baci, both young and hold thronged to the venue, in a personal bid if they could almost taste her meal.

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One of my painful moments, will be not attending the show, because at that time when the event was happening in Amore Gardens, Lekki, Lagos state, I was in Abuja for an engagement, my friends who attended the events concluded, If I knew Hilda Baci, I could almost taste it..." I could almost taste are unique dishes.